Nancy Maluso

Sales leaders want to continuously improve sales productivity. What many may not realize is that high seller engagement and wellness directly correlate with higher productivity. However, evidence from Forrester’s Q3 2020 US Future Of Work Survey shows that B2B sellers feel fatigued, less engaged, and more frustrated at work compared with other B2B professionals. This […]

A recent global survey sheds light on actions sales leaders can take to attract and retain top talent.

To achieve the results they want in the coming year, sales executives should ensure that alignment and integration with their marketing counterparts are front and center.

Mental health has been in the spotlight during these Olympic Games, yet the concerns cut across professions. Sales leaders need to prioritize sellers' wellness, starting with these three areas.

Sales leaders at emerging-growth companies must evolve their skills and focus to successfully execute and build the revenue engine. Those who don’t will hurt the company’s ability to grow.

For sales leaders at emerging companies, coupling a clear purpose with agile approaches is crucial for 2021 planning.

• Getting noticed by buyers in the B2B marketplace is difficult, and for emerging companies with little to no brand recognition, it’s even harder
• Marketers must create a single, consistent message that the entire company articulates in the market as a bullhorn instead of a whisper
• These leaders can contribute different perspectives about how to align on message and ensure that everyone in their organizations use it repeatedly 

• The volume of information and the pace of change make it impossible for sellers to retain everything
• Sellers must learn to anticipate the buyer’s context and the types of information buyers will need
• Sellers must be taught how to apply information in selling situations to move buyers along the path to purchasing

Forrester studies indicate that buyers consume 22 percent more content overall from winning sales reps. In addition, the content these reps provided to buyers was more likely to be perceived as high impact. And yet, many reps don’t effectively share content with clients because of the time they must devote to finding it. Here are […]

• Building a rockstar sales enablement effort starts with the right leader
• Orchestrating random acts of enablement from across the organization requires collaboration expertise
• Ninety-four percent of sales enablement leaders also have experience in selling, so leverage that experience when training reps

• Internal emails take up too much of sales reps’ time, which makes them picky about what they read
• There are 10 surefire ways to ensure that your email will get deleted before it’s read
• If important information is listed elsewhere, don’t send an unnecessary email to reps

• The art of selling is also a science, with advances in analytics helping organizations be much more scientific in their selling efforts
• Analytical engines can provide sales reps with great insights into buyers’ likelihood to buy
• These same engines drive proactive recommendations to reps on what to do or share with buyers

• Companies survey sales to get insights on what can be done better, but surveys are not enough
• Sales reps are on the front line of interactions with customers and have valuable feedback to share with the rest of the organization
• Creating a systemic, always-on program can capture sales insights and drive improvements in sales experience and outcomes

• SiriusDecisions’ third annual Technology Exchange recently took over Austin
• Attendees learned that to get the most out of technology investments, we must redefine how we think about our requirements
• Capabilities, user experience and dynamic response are key methods for maximizing technological impact

• Seasoned sales reps often don’t like to attend training
• Sales needs to learn about new initiatives, solutions and methods to continue to be successful
• Create a learning campaign that communicates and delivers information through various modalities, times and tools

• Most business-to-business organizations do not provide ongoing sales rep development outside of initiative-based training  
• Sales enablement professionals highlight a lack of core selling skills as inhibitors to growth
• Integrating ongoing rep training and coaching efforts into daily selling activity increases rep competency and results

• Organizations that fail to align sales and marketing efforts achieve subpar performance.
• Short of fully integrating marketing with sales, there are a few key steps that will enhance alignment.
• Marketing and sales should agree on goals, use common metric definitions and engage in authentic interlock discussions.

• Sales kickoffs strive to motivate, recognize, reinforce and develop sales reps so they can achieve business results
• The momentum built at kickoff can fade quickly if sales enablement efforts do not continue throughout the year
• Year-long enablement efforts must be integrated into the daily, weekly and monthly activities of sales reps and their managers